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Author
Topic: The Fine Folks Of Mississippi (Read 7201 times)

My apologies for creating 2 threads in one night, but I thought this was interesting. But, not surprising and no new insights. On tonight's "Real Time With Bill Maher," Alexandra Pelosi (yes, daughter of the evil Nancy) traveled to Mississippi to speak with the fine folks there. Mississippi is the poorest state and the most conservative. Wonder if that is just a coincidence?

Anyway, she says she approached the first people she saw, and did not select/edit/cherry-pick the short piece in an attempt to only show the nuttiest, most redneck, or racist. Take a look at who she found. I know you can find people just like this in Blue states, but you'd have to look for them. This is a short piece. I would love to see a more in depth version, where she challenges their views more than in just a short piece. You have to scroll down the page a bit for the video with Bill's introduction. On the show (not in this video), Bill discusses the book, "What's the matter with Kansas?" and how poor people vote against their own interests, because they can't see past their prejudices and that politics really does come down to race and religion.

My apologies for creating 2 threads in one night, but I thought this was interesting. But, not surprising and no new insights. On tonight's "Real Time With Bill Maher," Alexandra Pelosi (yes, daughter of the evil Nancy) traveled to Mississippi to speak with the fine folks there. Mississippi is the poorest state and the most conservative. Wonder if that is just a coincidence?

Anyway, she says she approached the first people she saw, and did not select/edit/cherry-pick the short piece in an attempt to only show the nuttiest, most redneck, or racist. Take a look at who she found. I know you can find people just like this in Blue states, but you'd have to look for them. This is a short piece. I would love to see a more in depth version, where she challenges their views more than in just a short piece. You have to scroll down the page a bit for the video with Bill's introduction. On the show (not in this video), Bill discusses the book, "What's the matter with Kansas?" and how poor people vote against their own interests, because they can't see past their prejudices and that politics really does come down to race and religion.

I don't think it's a coincidence,,Never been to Mississippi,, and don't have any intentions, of ever going there !! Even when I've driven through Georgia or Alabama, it's like, just get me out of here car, as quickly as possible, without any speeding tickets.

But then again, there are areas of Florida, that are very much like that video.

I'll have to look for some pictures I took ( here in Clearwater, Fl) After I just moved down here, in 1980. There was one house that had two toilet planters, on each side of the sidewalk leading to the front door of the house.

The toilet tanks had been removed, and the toilet bases were buried slightly, they had filled the bases with dirt and planted flowers. The car engine block, sat just to the right.

The area they filmed in looks like the Delta, which is an agricultural and rural part of the state. Had she gone into a slightly larger city like perhaps Biloxi or Jackson the comments would have been a lot less ignorant. For those who asked, "Hecky" was born in Louisiana and spent the ages of 10-20 in a small town in southwestern Mississippi.

Those people are idiots and in no way represent even close to a majority of Mississippi or by extension the South. Racism and Homophobia are still here but not nearly as much so as back in the 50s and 60s. As for political beliefs I have no idea why the poorest people vote for Republicans who have no interest in helping them.

That's nothing, we have people right here in New Mexico that live like that, of course, here in Albuquerque, Metro, that sorta thing is frown upon by the tax-payers and isn't allowed within the City limits, not unless you want to be fined, and given Warnings & Citations, and end up in Municipal Metro Court to plead your case

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"it's so nice to be insane, cause no-one ask you to explain" Helen Reddy cc 1974

Teddy isn't the person that should post a thread like this seeing as how eastern Kentucky is the same.

I'd also add that I don't think Mississippi is the most conservative state in the US (at least if one measures by actual voting) -- in fact in 2008 there were 13 states that voted at a lower level for Obama than MS, including Kentucky. By this measure Wyoming is the most conservative state, followed by Oklahoma. And if you want to take it down to the county level I believe that the lowest % votes for Obama were found in the panhandle of Oklahoma that election -- something like only 11% voted for him whereas the worst county in Wyoming was 17%

Those people are idiots and in no way represent even close to a majority of Mississippi or by extension the South. Racism and Homophobia are still here but not nearly as much so as back in the 50s and 60s.

That's not a ringing endorsement. Saying its not as bad as it was in the 60's is setting an awful low bar.

Teddy isn't the person that should post a thread like this seeing as how eastern Kentucky is the same.

You don't have to go to eastern Kentucky to find these people. Just head down I-65 or I-75. Even here in Louisville, which votes Dem 2 to 1, you'll find redneck folks with the Confederate flag on their pickups and bumper stickers saying Obama Bin Laden. I know some of these people. They are often poor (but not all) and they vote (or say they vote) repub. They also talk about God a lot, although I've noticed many of them never go to church. They will talk bad about all the welfare programs, but then you will find out many of them have been on or are currently on welfare/food stamps. I'm often puzzled by Kentucky. For governor, we've had one republican in the last 30 years or more. And, voters got rid of him after one term. The House is controlled by dems. But, Ky votes repub for federal elections. We have Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul for senators. Ky did vote for Clinton twice. We seem to think Dems run state gov't better, but not the federal. Actually, Ky has more registered Dems than repubs. I think by a fairly decent margin. But, they are those Reagan Dems. But, I still continue to believe in the best of these people. I think many of them (certainly not most) would support things like marriage equality, if they had a family member who was gay and out. Of course, these people are the ones who aren't Bible thumpers. They may believe in God and even the Bible literally, but are more willing to see things from a different point of view. For the Bible thumpers, there's no hope. They are busy making sure poor people seeking food stamps have to get tested for drugs first. And, they still don't want them to have them. I've heard many say people choose to be poor. And, "God helps those who help themselves." Which, is no where to be found in the Bible.

But, I've seen these same people in California, Florida (no surprise), Michigan, and Pennsylvania. They are everywhere, but I suppose concentrated more in the South.

You don't have to go to eastern Kentucky to find these people. Just head down I-65 or I-75. Even here in Louisville, which votes Dem 2 to 1, you'll find redneck folks with the Confederate flag on their pickups and bumper stickers saying Obama Bin Laden.

We were behind a pickup truck yesterday. The ass had a bumper sticker that said " Buck Ofama"

Next to that sticker, was a decail of an automatic Glock weapon. And next to that, was his Dale Earnhart decail.

if you get a chance, read "What's the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America" (2004) by Thomas Frank for a great exploration on this theme. Another slighter different viewpoint and good read is "The Truth about Conservative Christians: What They Think and What They Believe" by Andrew M. Greeley and Michael Hout

and to chime in with my two cents, South Carolina (at least from Fort Mill, outside of Charlotte NC, to the state captial of Columbia) is filled with people just like in the Pelosi video. Although I knew "some" people like that in Ohio, SC is overflowing with Tea-Party dweebs spouting all kinds of political and racist nonsense while voting against their very interests. The idea that was expressed by the toothless man, of "things might get better" if they keep voting Republican, is probably the most dominant opinion held around here and probably ought to be our state motto.

while many polls have shown that about 1/3 of our nation actually believes this way and are scattered throughout all the states, I too just have to believe that due to poverty levels, poor educational levels, the high amount of religion, and extreme racism that the states that made of the former Confederacy still hold more of these kinds of people than elsewhere - or at least they make more noise about being this stupid. LOL

Concerning the video. This is a tendancy of Maher that rubs me the wrong way. Why the laugh track? Or, is there an actual audience laughing? Either way, its bad taste, condescending, and smug for Maher and the "liberal subway riding elite" "audience" to actually laugh on a national TV show at these people.

That video was shot, and put up, for us to laugh at ignoramuses. There is no exploration of the supposed topic, in the video. But I assume the show does discuss it a bit seriously. Downloading it now...

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“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

Don't you just hate all those "liberal subway riding elites" jamming the trains. You would think they would have the decency to take a cab, instead of taking a seat from some hard working stiff. The upper crust does have a "tendency" to go on

Well I watched the program. It comes sandwiched in an interview with John Hamm about misc topics.The topic comes out of nowhere - not part of the show's themes up to the clip.After the clip, the question discussed is - What's the matter with Kansas? The Kansas Thesis. People (powerless, poor, uneducated the haven-nots) who vote against their economic issues because they are steadfast on the right wing side of social issues and cant go beyond their prejudices. Michael Steele does the best overall contextualizing.

Maher says, the worry is, that the have-not whites see it this way: "The Republicans are for the rich, The democrats are for the n*ggers, so how who is there for me? How do you get those prejudices of of their minds? (edit)

Steele and another panel member (Stern) point out that the Democrats have to do a better job representing and speaking TO the have nots. Obama doesn't dare, since he needs to protect., fight for, the aspirational middle class and its concerns against the plutocrats. But his policies are hardly thrash and burn clearouts among the 1 person. He's IVY league elitist in a perfect highly accomplished family and the only time he seems to get down with the folks is with black folks, and then only a bit.

Its a good enough discussion. I surely didn't appreciate the laughing at the toothless hicks, that all.

« Last Edit: March 12, 2012, 05:57:01 PM by mecch »

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“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

Speaking of toothless hicks, I always wanted to move the teh Ozark's where I'm sure I find many toothless big-dick man hicks beating down my door, wanting to be my BF, or on the other hand I'd probably end up dead for being a queer

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"it's so nice to be insane, cause no-one ask you to explain" Helen Reddy cc 1974

It wasn't meant to be. No one is publicly denigrated on the basis of race, religion, sexual orientation, but behind closed doors the thoughts and attitudes still linger. Some people freely discuss this with individuals they feel are like minded and in some cases not so much. I've heard more than my fair share of hate speech concerning gay men from people I barely know. Although the Atheism usually sticks in their craw a lot more. Apparently for being gay I'm going to burn in a Hell I don't believe in.

Although the Atheism usually sticks in their craw a lot more. Apparently for being gay I'm going to burn in a Hell I don't believe in.

Totally brought a smile to me this morning. My family finally accepted me being gay after just a decade, but they were horrified when I announced I was an agnostic. I made this determination after graduating from a Christian University. I guess I didn't get indoctrinated early enough, or it was constantly hearing that AIDS was the punishment for queers. Rev. Lynn always seemed to look at me when he pronounced that.

They still pray for my doomed soul.

Wolfie

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Complacency is the enemy. Challenge yourself daily for maximum return on investment.

I am still curious. Do some of you think its OK for a show like Maher to put up the hicks for his audience to laugh at, including a laugh track or laughing live audiences.

(But "we" -- middle class liberals - Maher audience - were all horrified at audiences in Republican debates revelling in expressions of their own contempt for certain types.)

Bill Maher isn't "middle class" far from it, so that's a big fat lie, he is a liberal tho, and besides, I don't even think he's all that funny to me, I used to watch his HBO TV show yrs ago, like way back in 2004, and I thought it was kinda sad for man his age to be half-baked on TV all the time

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"it's so nice to be insane, cause no-one ask you to explain" Helen Reddy cc 1974

How can you live there? I don't mean to sound flippant. I've never lived in the south so I really am speaking as an outsider on this. I really can't understand living somewhere that the people have a genuine open contempt for you to the point they think you are going ago hell.

Bugsy, we get that you couldn't live in the South -- I grew up there (kind of) and left north at the fist opportunity, but it's easier to do in Virginia than in the Deep South where you separated by longer distances from family. And some people down there would feel like a fish out of water running around Boston or Portland.

There are great things in the south -- tasty food as long as you limit the portions and frequency, beautiful beaches (NOTHING beats the Outer Banks in NC) great restaurants in places like Charleston. And in may of those smaller cities and university town there also exists pockets of liberalism, so it depends how you construct it. Frankly I could feasibly see living in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area -- lots of liberals and Yankee transplants there. You can even locate elitist Frenchified croissant shops, and Durham produces one of the best coffee roasters in the US. Yes, better than Seattle. Charleston or Savannah I could see myself being comfortable living there -- Savannah has a lovely huge arts school, very liberal.

But indeed, there are large expanses of frightening retrogressive populations hunting possums and other assorted varmints. But it's not like they vote at a 95% rate for Republicans, more like 55% -- as in there were 45% that voted for Obama in South Carolina. So it's not hard to sort out fellow liberals on a social basis and maintain some sanity. And not every Republican voter is a uber-right wing Christianist type, many are just those country club types.

But yes, it takes more effort than in the congressional district you live in -- I figure yours is like mine in Philly with a Cook Partisan liberal index akin to the one Nancy Pelosi lives in. Gay issues are somewhat non-issues where I live, and there's crossover with gay/feminist issues, etc. It's what I'm comfortable with and have had as a residence spanning 2-3 districts in NYC and one here over the course of 20 years.

To each his own I suppose. Though I still enjoying trolling the Southerners on this forum

That's a very gracious way to look at the problems we face here in the south Miss P .

There are many people that live here in the south that have done wonders in the communities where they live to effect change . I have lived in many regions in the U.S . and have found ignorance is not hard to find no matter where you live . One problem we have here is that some people are not sophisticated enough to keep silent about their hateful outdated opinions , so the vocal misguided ones makes it easy work to paint us all with the same brush .

Of course there are nice places in the south Miss P. However, when a gay man states that there is an open contemption that he should burn in hell I don't think it is without Merritt to then ask, why do you live there.

When I asked Hellraiser that, I did state in that thread that I have never lived in the south and I was asking as an outsider. I was not being judgemental nor was I looking down my nose at him as I was accused of. As someone who has lived the majority of their life in the northeastern US and the west coast its hard to fathom living in a place where the populous feels that way towards you. All I can do is think, how would I react to a situation like that. For me, I couldn't live in a place like that, I would leave.

If JG or whoever else thinks that was an inappropriate question, then I will try to be less abrasive I guess in the future.

Well I'm very PROUD of my southern heritage , My Father was a southern Baptist, and was born & raised in Atlanta GA. ( I have cousin on my fathers side that still live there) although I wasn't raised in the south, I only visited Atlanta every summer when I was a child, so YES I'm kinda a southerner myself, if you must know

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"it's so nice to be insane, cause no-one ask you to explain" Helen Reddy cc 1974

However, when a gay man states that there is an open contemption that he should burn in hell I don't think it is without Merritt to then ask, why do you live there.

ah! obviously you've never met anyone of the Fundamental Baptist persuasion (much stricter than those sissy "Southern Baptists"). LOL Last time I was in church, they were still preaching that everyone was going to hell.

ah! obviously you've never met anyone of the Fundamental Baptist persuasion (much stricter than those sissy "Southern Baptists"). LOL Last time I was in church, they were still preaching that everyone was going to hell.

My Father told me I was going to Hell on his death bed, well it looks like he went there, I'm still here & alive

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"it's so nice to be insane, cause no-one ask you to explain" Helen Reddy cc 1974

How can I live here? By honestly not giving a flying fuck what some uneducated hate monger thinks of me. Don't for a minute think I'm the only gay in the village. You have a lifestyle you're accustomed to and I have mine. I find most(not all) people outside of the Deep South to be fairly rude regardless of their opinion of who I have sex with.

Do you think, for example, white Maher could have done that report with only poor black southern trash and gotten away with it?

He did say Alexandra Pelosi will be going to the inner-city to do a similar report. It is hard to call it a report, since it was so short and only showed about 6 people. Yes, they laughed at the lack of teeth. But, I think they laughed most at the ridiculous views--Obamacare is bad, when so many there need it and having healthcare reform only provides positive results for them, man saying the gov't hadn't done anything for him, when he's on food stamps, the South will rise again guy, proud to be white guy, man saying he doesn't like Obama, because he's a "half-breed," and so on. For those folks, it is hard to say it's just how they were raised and we shouldn't make fun. The white power guy and half-breed guy need to have their views laughed at as ridiculous.

I know I was laughing at those ridiculous views and not at their circumstances. And, I wasn't rolling in laughter. The dental issues are sad. I remember chipping my two front teeth at a time when I couldn't afford to fix them. It happened at a very bad time, so I had to live with them for several months. It caused me to withdrawal from talking to people, because I didn't want them to see them. I was so happy when I was able to get veneers/crowns (or whatever they are) put on. So, I have a lot of empathy for the teeth issue and do feel bad if any of my chuckles were about that. I think dental coverage should be part of healthcare reform. Even many insurance benefits only pay for 2 cleanings a year. If you need root canals or other work, it is gonna cost ya big even with insurance. We know dental issues affect physical health--not to mention psychological effects. But, I digress.

Bug -- if you think there aren't people living around you that loath your very existance because you are gay, you are deluding yourself. It may be more prevalent in the deep south, but these sort of bigots are everywhere. They may be more vocal about it in some areas. I know folks from the Northeast who were disowned by their family when they came out. I suspect it happens in the Northwest too. So -- given that why would you live where you do? Well, we all have to live somewhere, right? How do you change people's minds -- by having them get to know you. Won't work on all, but it will on some. When I was about to resign my commission in the Army Reserves (right after Don't Ask, Don't Tell came out) -- I "told" everyone. The XO of my unit took me aside and told me that he had always agreed that gays did not belong in the military, but after working with me he was going to have to reassess that view. Running and hiding only keeps bigots alive and, incidently, gives them exactly what they want.

I know I was laughing at those ridiculous views and not at their circumstances. And, I wasn't rolling in laughter. The dental issues are sad. I remember chipping my two front teeth at a time when I couldn't afford to fix them. It happened at a very bad time, so I had to live with them for several months. It caused me to withdrawal from talking to people, because I didn't want them to see them. I was so happy when I was able to get veneers/crowns (or whatever they are) put on. So, I have a lot of empathy for the teeth issue and do feel bad if any of my chuckles were about that. I think dental coverage should be part of healthcare reform. Even many insurance benefits only pay for 2 cleanings a year. If you need root canals or other work, it is gonna cost ya big even with insurance. We know dental issues affect physical health--not to mention psychological effects. But, I digress.

Yes that sounds about right to me too.

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“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

I find most(not all) people outside of the Deep South to be fairly rude regardless of their opinion of who I have sex with.

Really? I've lived in the south all my life. There are just as many rude people here as anywhere else.

Conversely, there are just as many cool/nice people here as anywhere else.

Then again, Atlanta is it's own entity.

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"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."